A lot of noshing, a little knitting, and not too much swearing.

January 27, 2015

One of my BFFs gave me this beauty. Can you see the sparkle? I do not yet know what it will become, but I enjoy looking at it sitting in on my shelf.

This will become my next pair of Opal socks.

Mittens? Hat? No way I could resist that color, why would I even try?

Not pink, but oh so pretty. The yarn will stripe perfectly, every four rounds for socks. I will need to do a little research to find the right stitch count/needle combination. The blue is for heels and toes, maybe cuffs too. I have a simple pattern in mind that will play up the stripes.

January 26, 2015

Last week I saw a pattern for a teapot cozy that I could not resist. I decided to whip one up for Oldest Daughter, to have it waiting for her when she returns home. I happened to have some yarn in a color she loves, and after scrounging up a pair of needles that would work I cast on.

Last time Youngest Daughter was home I gave her my impressive collection of Addi circular needles. I have been knitting so little, she has been knitting so much, it seemed like the right thing to do. I did keep a few sizes, the ones I am most likely to use for socks and scarves, but not the one I needed for the cozy.

I also have a collection of vintage bakelite needles and found a pair that would work for the cozy.

After a few rows I broke a needle, not a little needle, a size 6. Whoops, maybe these things are more pretty than useful? I found another size 6 and kept going. Broke that one too. The cabling was just too much for it. So that project is waiting until I can get to the yarn shop to pick up a pair of sturdy, metal needles.

While waiting, I cast on Husband's second sock. More Opal yarn that is knitting up just great. I have another skein of Opal in the basket ready to go and a good amount of yarn has entered the house recently. That post and photos tomorrow.

January 22, 2015

Over the past few years, we have only seen Tyler Florence attached to cooking reality shows. It is easy to forget that he began his career as an actual chef whose shows taught people how to cook. In his new book he is back to his roots, showing us the how and the why of good cooking.

The cover of the book resembles a Moleskine notebook, complete with the black elastic band to hold it closed. If you are a lover of Moleskin, as I am, you will recognize the first page.

The pages are pleasantly thick and there are photos everywhere. The pictures are not just of finished dishes, but of steps along the way. New cooks will especially appreciate the attention to detail.

Mr. Florence not only gives you the recipe, he gives you the hows and whys that led to the final recipe. I love a book that tells me why, it keeps me from improvising something I should not and then being disappointed. It is so helpful to learn from other people's mistakes.

The recipes are not fussy, or loaded with strange, difficult to find ingredients, but they lead to good food. The kind of food you want to come out of your kitchen on a regular basis. The kind of food that makes people say, "Man, that woman can cook."

The first section, Barbecue, has seven recipes. Seven may not seem like a lot, but these are recipes you will actually use. If you took a 400 page book devoted to barbecue and marked the recipes that you were most likely to cook for your family, these are the recipes you will use.

A short list of perfectly curated dishes is found in every section. Dishes you won't just dream about cooking one day, when you have tons of free time and a maid, but will be whipping up on a weeknight.

I am really looking forward to bringing this book into the kitchen. The section on Risotto is where I will begin. Risotto is one of my all time favorite things to eat. Seriously, if I were stranded on a dessert island you would find me trying to figure out to make risotto with the ingredients at hand before trying to rig up a radio.

There is one recipe, the very last in the book, that is kinda genius. Fronions, onion rings coated with french fries. What!? Wrap your brain around that and then lay in supplies to make a batch. I will be giving that one a try the next time I have a full house. Fronions. Genius.

**This book was provided to me by the publisher. No money changed hands and my opinions are my own.**

January 21, 2015

When I was in 11th grade I was required to take a "Business Education" class. This was essentially a typing class with some added information about how to address a variety of formal letters, and the proper way to fold and place those letters in an envelope. I loved this class. It was taught by Mr. Barnes, a very short, very black, very gay man. His pants were always a bit too short and he wore the most outrageous socks. Thinking about him now I sure wish I could invite him over for dinner and chat. What must it have been like for him at that point in time? I enjoyed everything about the 45 minutes spent in his classroom. I liked the sound of the typewriter keys hitting the paper, and the competition of gaining speed every week. We used electric typewriters, but they were probably some of the very first models. WAY bigger than a manual typewriter, with keys almost as tall.

In those days, no other classwork was required to be typed before turning it in, few people had typewriters at home, and I am not sure they were even available in the library. I did have to type some things for college. Lots of people I knew hired out the typing, five dollars a page or something like that, but I remember the excited calm I felt while typing in that class and bought myself a Brother AX22. I do not for the life of me know what happened to that typewriter after college, I probably pawned it.

So here I am 27 years later with my beloved iPad. I have loved this thing from the very first day I brought it home. Unlike a lot of people who use them only to check email and watch Netflix, the iPad quickly became my main computer. I use it for freelance writing work and do not understand why people feel the need to cling to their laptops.

For a few years the onscreen keyboard did the job for me. When I am doing freelancing work I am a slow, methodical typer. But as I have been making the switch to fiction, I find that the built in keyboard can not keep up with me. I will type three sentences and it comes out as one long word, underlined with red. I needed a keyboard.

After much research I finally settled on Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover. It is perfect in every way. I love the way the keys look and feel and sound. In a way it brings me back to that hot classroom on the second floor of a San Diego high school. Windows wide open, letting the breeze remind us to secure our paper, Mr. Barnes and his crazy socks patrolling the room, smiling when we got it right. I am smiling now. If he were here, he would be smiling too.

January 20, 2015

I do not often talk fiction here on the blog, but I have just finished a book that blew me away. Stoner by John Williams often pops up on lists of Best Books You Have Never Read, or Best Books You Have Never Heard Of. Occasionally a writer that you know and love will list it as one of their favorite books. The title kept coming up over and over again and this is how I came to read the book. From the beginning I was left speechless. No, I am not in the habit of talking while reading, but I did find myself with my hand clutched over my mouth, gob smacked by the words I was reading. The Great Gatsby is often referred to as the great American novel. F. Scott wishes he could write like this. If he had ever read Stoner it would have sent him into fits of low self esteem that lasted years.

I read the book on the kindle, but am going to save my pennies and purchase a used hardcover edition ($50ish) because this is book that I am going to read again and again, maybe I will make it my first book to read every year. Book lovers on my holiday list can expect a copy.

I knit the first sock without a hitch, and made it through half of the second sock and realized it was completely wrong. Wrong in more than one way. So I began again. The second time was perfect, not sure what I managed to screw up the first time around, but in talking to one of my BFFs about it, she had done the same thing.

After the knitting of the socks is finished you are left with seams along the sides of the heel that need to be sewn. When I make the next pair, I will work out a way to close those up while knitting. I do not think it will be too difficult.

Next up are the pinkest socks I have ever knit, and considering the number of pink socks in my drawer, that is saying something.

The yarn is from Opal, a personal favorite of mine, and it the first of many pairs knit from Opal planned for the year.

Husband chose this yarn, and I will be casting on socks for him this weekend.

January 14, 2015

For the first 18 months I had my iPhone it did not have a case. It fit perfectly in my jeans pocket with my wallet and I was happy. Last summer I splurged and bought prescription sunglasses. The sunglasses had a big case and required me to actually carry a purse. A little purse, but still purse. The purse has a zipper along the top that I regularly forgot to zip, and my driveway is quite steep. This meant that on more than one occasion I got out of the car, flipped my purse upside down and watched the contents, including the phone, slide all the way down to the bottom of the driveway. After this happened the third time, I broke down and bought a case for the phone.

SO cute. I think I had this case less than a month when I unplugged the phone from the charger on my desk and gave the phone a little flip to turn it upright. So we are talking the distance between my elbow and my hand, maybe 12 inches, flip, drop, shatter.

I am not over exaggerating when I say shattered.

The fist thing I did was call around to find out how much it was going to be to fix this mess. No, the first thing I did was put the phone in a zippie bag so that it would stop dropping wee tiny shards of glass everywhere, the second thing I did was call around. Apple wanted $200 to fix the back case, the kiosk at the mall wanted $70. This was not OK with me. Then I stumbled on a you tube video showing how to fix it yourself. I ordered the parts from ebay for $5 and proceeded to fix it myself. It was super easy and I felt so empowered when I was done. Maybe too empowered. If the first thing I tried to fix on my phone were the front screen, It may have left me with a whole different attitude.

Last week my phone's camera stopped working. Did I call Apple or the mall? Nope, I went straight to YouTube. After watching a few tutorials I was convinced that replacing the camera was something I could totally do. Yes, it is more involved then replacing the back cover, but I was Super iPhone Woman!

The last You Tube video I watched pointed out that I should check the lens cover before replacing the camera, that this is often the problem. So I opened up my phone, and pried off the lens cover, then I took a photo. Holy crap. Not only was the photo great, but my camera has been screwed up for a long time but I had not noticed the decline. So I put everything back together and ordered my $3.00 part.

before

after

I have become fairly intimate with the inside of my iPhone. So far the fixes have been easy, but I will not hesitate to tackle something more difficult in the future. Hear me roar.

Oh, and the phone is now surrounded by an Otterbox, which means it no longer fits in my jeans pocket, but is indestructible.

January 13, 2015

This is the word of the day. What does it mean? Medically Separate. When is it used? When a PCV (Peace Corps volunteer) is no longer able to fulfill their job due to a medical injury. Oldest Daughter is waiting to find out if this is her.

Oldest Daughter has been in Zambia for the past 19 months, and last month she hurt herself. Actually, she torn her ACL. First there was rest at the provincial house, then an MRI and physical therapy at the capitol. There has been much pain and no improvement, which is to be expected in these sorts of injuries. It has been almost a month since she has been in her village, and the orthopedist will not be in the capital again until next week. So now we wait.

I sit here, 10,000 miles away, full of worry with not a single thing to do but wait. Did I mention that she is in pain, and miserable? If it were up to me I would fly over and snatch her. But it is not up to me. And the people who it is up to, are looking at pieces of paper, not into the eyes of a mother.

January 12, 2015

The finished knitting is really a tease. I did finish two pair of socks this weekend, but my camera is ailing, so no photos just yet. A new camera part is on the way so there will be pictures before too long.

A very interesting book entered the house a few weeks ago. It arrived the same day as a couple of out of town visitors and so sat on my desk, giving me something to look forward to once the house quieted down.

Novel Interiors, Living In Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti with photographs by Ivan Terestchenko, is a book about the intersection of homes and literature, and offers ways to incorporate a love of books with the place you live. Ways other than having them stacked up, threatening to topple. Raise your hand if you have such a stack in your house.

The ideas in the book are not confined to the romanticized past, but include a good variety of genres. The chapters are, Shall I Put The Kettle On?, Remembrance Of Things Past, Living Au Naturel, Oh, The Glamour of It All, Anything Goes, and Sometimes a Fantasy.

Each chapter includes specific ideas such as: "Children's bedrooms: Put a real knocker on the door. A brass bird, a lions head, or an oversized hand lets visitors know they're about to cross into a land that doesn't exist on any map." Isn't that the best idea? It makes me wish my children were still young.

Also listed are "Lessons from the books", such as the virtuous pantry depicted by Charles Dickens, or ways to create a surreal world such as is found in Alice In Wonderland or Vainglory, or my favorite, personalized house stationary from The Edwardians, to use yourself, and to leave in guests' rooms. Such a old fashioned and genteel item for my very modern house.

While there are plenty of ideas that incorporate large spaces and whole rooms, each section of the book ends with a list of finishing touches, small ways to give a nod to your favorite authors even if you are not willing or able to redecorate an entire room.

The book ends with brief descriptions of the authors and books used as inspiration. If you are particularly fond of the looks in a specific chapter, this section might provide a good reading list.

"Your life is all wandering, changes and adventure." Lesley Blanch, THE WILDER SHORES OF LOVE

"He was rather proud of his home...there was a simplicity in everything, and plenty of books." D.H. Lawrence, SONS AND LOVERS

January 05, 2015

Fewer cookbooks came into the house this year and even fewer actually made it onto my shelves. From the list of books released in 2014 that I enjoy and look forward to cooking from, there is one book that has risen to the top. A book I find myself reaching for over and over again, never disappointed.

My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz. The fact that I like and use this book as much as I do comes as a surprise. I read/scan David's blog and Instagram, and have made a few of the recipes he posts, but was not pinning for his latest cookbook. Maybe it is because he is best known as a pastry chef and I am not a pastry sort of girl. Whatever the reason, I am glad that I pre-ordered the book many months before it was published and then forgot I had ordered it so I did not have a chance to cancel. I have made so many of the recipes from this book, a few have made it into heavy rotation, and there are still more that I am looking forward to trying. For sure, my most useful cookbook of the year.

Second on the list is Roast Figs Sugar Snow by Diane Henry. This book was not even on my radar screen when I came across it at the Book Larder. It is written with cold weather in mind and contains warm, hearty food with a scandinavian influence. Everything I have tried has been delicious.

Next up are a couple of dessert books. Like I said, I am not much of a dessert girl, but sometimes I need a cake for a party, or want a little special something for the family. Madeleines I reviewed in November and am still enjoying, and

Let Us All Eat Cake has become my go to for parties. Remember what Julia Child said, "A party without cake is just a meeting." The book includes the basic recipes that come to mind when you think of cake, with plenty of new flavors to inspire you. All gluten free!

I only bought one preserving book this year, can you believe it? Preserving by the Pint by Marisa McClellen. Marisa's first book Food in Jars is pretty great and something I do not hesitate to recommend to new canners. Preserving by the Pint provides recipes that you know are going to work, on a very small scale. Now that there is only one child at home, I find smaller recipes more useful. I also like to make a small batch if I am not sure about how the finished product will be received. A really useful book.

The last two are definitely niche books. I was silly excited to see Shrubs by Michael Dietsch. I am a BIG shrub fan and recipes for this decidedly old fashioned beverage are few and far between. This book provides shrubs for every season with fresh, modern flavors. Also, there is lots of history and a few cocktail recipes, which pretty much seals the deal.

Lastly, a book that I enjoyed reading cover to cover, but have not yet cooked from is Haute Dogs by Russell van Kraayenburg. One of the things that makes Bobby Flay's food so good is that he includes a relish/salsa/topping AND a sauce for every dish. Haute Dog follows suite with some of the most imaginative hot dogs you will ever find. Each state gets it's own dog, and the flavor combinations make me want to run right out to the store for ingredients. In addition to the dog recipes, you will also find recipes for all the buns, condiments, and sausages, if you feel like going complete DIY. This book is going on top of the menu planning pile this summer.

A lot of beautiful cookbooks were published this year, full of stunning photography and styling. By the end of the year I had become bored with them. A photo of a long table set for twenty in a barn full of old whiskey barrels is nice to look at, but no help at all when it comes to the actual cooking. I am hoping that 2015 brings more food and substance, less filtered light and fluff.